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President Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Biden,
We write to you with great concern regarding the situation of Steven Donziger, a US human rights lawyer who has been sentenced to six months in prison in a case that was brought in retaliation for his work in defense of the rights of Indigenous peoples in Ecuador who were victims of Chevron Corporation’s oil dumping. More than four months since a discerning opinion by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that found Steven Donziger’s detention to be arbitrary, US judicial authorities have thus far failed to take any action to remedy the situation and implement the Working Group’s call to ensure Mr. Donziger’s immediate release. We are therefore urging you to exercise your power of executive clemency to pardon Steven Donziger as a way to ensure his immediate release.
As you may already be aware, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found in September 2021 that Steven Donziger’s deprivation of liberty is arbitrary because it violates several norms relating to the right to a fair trial, including the apparent lack of impartiality of the courts. The Working Group noted with concern the lack of fairness in a civil process against Mr. Donziger and further condemned the lack of independence, objectivity and impartiality of the judge who ordered Mr. Donziger to remain in pre-trial house arrest for over two years in violation of his right to liberty and that has overseen the trial over criminal contempt charges.
Moreover, the Working Group concluded that Mr. Donziger’s deprivation of liberty appears to be in retaliation for his work as a legal representative of Indigenous communities in Ecuador after he refused to disclose to Chevron the confidential correspondence with his clients.
Despite these serious concerns, Mr. Donziger was sentenced on 1 October 2021 to the maximum penalty of 6 months in prison and denied the possibility to be released pending an appeal. Notwithstanding a decision by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to expedite the resolution for the pending appeal on the conviction and sentence, the decision is still pending to date.
Steven Donziger’s prosecution is one more example of how far powerful interests are willing to go in their quest to silence those standing up for justice and exposing their wrongdoing. By doing so, they are also trying to send a chilling message to environmental activists around the world that fighting against corporate interests can cost them their liberty and more.
This type of legal cases brought, or threatened to be brought, with the intention of silencing or intimidating journalists, civil society organizations and human rights defenders are becoming an increasing threat to the space for civil society globally. These intimidatory suits are not necessarily aimed at protecting the honour or reputation of an individual or a corporation, but rather to intimidate, tire and deplete the financial and psychological resources of their target. The cost of fighting these legal actions can put extreme financial and other pressure on human rights activists forcing them to repurpose the already limited funds and resources from their work to defend the lawsuit. The litigation is often also successful in diverting the attention from the environmental or human rights issue to the legal case itself.
Already in 2017, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association expressed concern over a “worrying new approach” in the USA of litigants using the RICO statute to “intimidate advocacy groups and activists”. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders has similarly expressed concern over the restrictions faced by environmental defenders in the USA who were facing increased restrictions in the country.
It is therefore urgent for the US authorities to promptly implement the UN’s decision calling, among other things, for the immediate release of Steven Donziger and further take the necessary measures to ensure that corporations can no longer abuse the justice system to target and harass human rights defenders. The continued reprisals against Steven Donziger are sending a worrying message to corporations in the USA and around the world that they can keep weaponizing the justice system to intimidate human rights defenders without any consequence.
We thank you in advance for your urgent consideration of this matter, and we would welcome an opportunity to meet with you or your officials for further discussions regarding the injustices of this case and more broadly about what the US authorities can do to ensure that corporations can no longer abuse the justice system to target and harass human rights defenders.
Sincerely,
Amazon Watch
Amnesty International
Animals Are Sentient Beings, Inc.
Artists for Amazonia
Athens County’s Future Action Network
Banana Link
Bay Area – System Change not Climate Change
Be The Change – Colorado
Beta Boys TV
BudgIT Foundation
Cafe Coop
CASE – Citizens Alliance for a Sustainable Englewood
Central California Environmental Justice Network
Civil Liberties Defense Center
Clean Energy Action
Climate Action Rhode Island – 350
Climate Crisis Advisory Group
Climate Defense Project
CODEPINK
Community Empowerment and Social Justice Network (CEMSOJ)
Community Outreach for Development and Welfare Advocacy (CODWA)
Corporate Ethics International
CorpWatch
Defend Democracy in Brazil Committee – New York
Denver Justice and Peace Committee
Direct Action Everywhere
Divest Ed
Earth Ethics, Inc.
Echo
Environment East Gippsland, inc.
Environmental Defender Law Center
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Estes Valley Clean Energy Coalition
Extinction Rebellion NYC
Extinction Rebellion San Francisco Bay Area
Fair Finance International
Family Farm Defenders
Food Empowerment Project
Food & Water Watch
Forest Peoples Programme
Friends of the Earth Canada
Friends of the Earth US
Future Coalition
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
Goldblatt Partners LLP
HasanAbi Twitch
Indigenous Peoples Rights International
Institute for Policy Studies Climate Policy Program
International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute
International Service for Human Rights
Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard
Foundation For Environmental Rights, Advocacy & Development (FENRAD NIGERIA)
Global Exchange
Global Justice Ecology Project
Global Justice Now
Global Witness
Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice
Greenpeace USA
Greenpeace Canada
Green State Solutions
Harrington Investments, Inc.
Healing Bridges
Honor the Earth
Human and Environmental Development Agenda
Impact Capital Strategies
International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific
Just Forests
Just Share
Kickapoo Peace Circle
The Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative
Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution
London Mining Network
Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy
March Forth Ventures
Media Alliance
Mighty Earth
Mosquito fleet
NJ State Industrial Union Council
Nurture The Children
Oil Change International
Oil and Gas Action Network
One Earth Sangha
Oxfam America
Pachamama Alliance
Palestine Legal
Project HEARD
Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Nigeria
Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch
Rainforest Action Network
Rainforest Foundation US
Re: Common
Resource Matters
ReThink Trade
Rights Action
Extinction Rebellion NYC
Extinction Rebellion San Francisco Bay Area
Fair Finance International
Family Farm Defenders
Food Empowerment Project
Food & Water Watch
Forest Peoples Programme
Friends of the Earth Canada
Friends of the Earth US
Future Coalition
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
Goldblatt Partners LLP
Indigenous Peoples Rights International
Institute for Policy Studies Climate Policy Program
International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute
International Service for Human Rights
Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard
Foundation For Environmental Rights, Advocacy & Development (FENRAD NIGERIA)
Global Exchange
Global Justice Ecology Project
Global Justice Now
Global Witness
Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice
Greenpeace USA
Greenpeace Canada
Green State Solutions
Harrington Investments, Inc.
Healing Bridges
Honor the Earth
Human and Environmental Development Agenda
Impact Capital Strategies
International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific
Just Share
Kickapoo Peace Circle
The Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative
Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution
London Mining Network
Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy
March Forth Ventures
Media Alliance
Mighty Earth
Mosquito fleet
NJ State Industrial Union Council
Nurture The Children
Oil Change International
Oil and Gas Action Network
One Earth Sangha
Oxfam America
Pachamama Alliance
Palestine Legal
Peace Action Maine
Project HEARD
Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Nigeria
Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch
Rainforest Action Network
Rainforest Foundation US
Re: Common
Resource Matters
ReThink Trade
Rights Action
Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
Scientists for the Mekong
SoCal 350 Climate Action
South East Region Conservation Alliance
Stand.earth
Sunflower Alliance
Ta havet tilbake og jorda i bruk
Terra Advocati
Texas Campaign for the Environment
Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services
Trade Justice Education Fund
TribesAlive
TZH Editing Inc.
Universidade de Brasília: Laboratory and Study Group in Interethnic Studies
Union of Concerned Scientists
Union of People Affected by Texaco (UDAPT)
Uplift
Vegan Runners
Washington College of Law’s Environmental Law Society
West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs
Women United for Economic Empowerment
Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network
Youth United for Community Action
198 methods
350 Bay Area
350 Hawaii
350ma-Berkshires
350 Silicon Valley
